Cold Night Air
by Lightroars
Summary: Fifty years after Eragon died, a new dragon rider appears to send Galbatorix to his downfall.
1. Before

**Before.**

**Fifty years after Eragon died, Galbatorix still rules over everything. The old town where Eragon first lived has grown, and many people are thinking of ways to over through the king, but it seems impossible without a dragon rider, and Galbatorix still has the last egg. **

**How Eragon died so suddently is a mystery to everyone, because no one saw his death. But his bones, and the bones of his magnificent dragon, Saphira, were found alone near the Varden.**

**There have been a few failed attempts to overthrow the king, each ending worse then that last. **

**Now the only possible hope for anyone, is that somehow there will be another dragon rider to save the land.  
**


	2. Silence

**Silence.**

The sun was rising, casting elongated shadows onto the front steps of Fay's house. The sky was an elaborate fusion of every color from deep red to pale yellow, looking as though the sky had been painted into a picturesque masterpiece. And yet still not as brilliant as the sunset. The noises were subtle, but joyful. The giggle every once in a while from Lorie, the returning laugh of Fay, and the bright voice of Sara chattering away, until it all fell silent again, and each continued what they were doing.

Fay delicately picked up one of the pebbled on the ground as she sat there, examining the area around her for the shiny rocks. Even at her age, she was still so enchanted by shiny things. She smiled faintly at the thought, as she dusted off the pebble and put it in her lap with the rest. She had her own collection of glittering, glistening, shiny things, (though most of them were just rocks) and she enjoyed adding to it each day. Besides, she never had much else to do. A piece of dark brown hair fell in front of her large hazel eyes, and she absentmindedly hooked it behind her ear.

She was not the most striking, beautiful, and whatever else girl in the town, she knew, but she did not care much. She could let her sister Sara keep that title, no problem. Sara was tall, slender, with buttery yellow hair that she always wore falling down in her back in beautiful, shining curls. She had the perfect tone skin; lightly tanned, with a few freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. Delicate hands, a graceful walk, she was the definition of beauty, as opposed to Fay.

Fay was more on the short side, about five feet four inches tall, and had wavy dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders, though she almost always had it up on her head in a loose bun. Her skin was much paler, almost a ghostly white, and no matter how much she tried to get enough sun it never seemed to help. Her arms and legs were most of the time covered with bruises of every size. She did not even know why she got them so easily- she fell as much as the average person. (Okay, she was a bit clumsy, but not as much as her bruises made her appear.)

Even her youngest sibling Lorie was pretty. She was a mere three years old and already had blonde hair falling past her shoulders, and her small hands were sweet and delicate.

Lorie was holding a flower in those small hands, holding it out from her body and looking at it's bright colors in fascination. She made a small grunt as she hobbled over to her little pile of flowers, gingerly putting the newest on the top as though it were precious. She clapped her hands together and looked for a few moments in pride at her pile, before turning to hobble over to the flower patch yet again.

Fay laughed as she watched her sister, smiling at the warmth of the sun of her back. She could faintly hear her father yelling at her brothers from the inside of the house, and the smile faded away. She hated hearing him do that. He was always yelling, if not ignoring his children altogether. After his wife died, he had absolutely no care for them at all.

Fay shook her head, trying to just not think about it. She lived a happy life with her siblings, despite their uncaring father. She plucked up another pebble from the ground. "Oh, Lorie," She called to her little sister brightly, "Look at this one I've just found! It's shaped like a star."

Lorie's eyes lit up, and she quickly hurried up to Fay, reaching her small hand into her older sister's so she could grab the rock. She held it up in front of her eyes, and giggled, "This one's pwetty! Can I have it Fay? Pwease?" Lorie asked, clutching the small rock in her fist.

"…Sure…" Fay replied, her voice fading slightly. Her gaze had fallen on a tall figure, walking down the pathway to the house. She quickly looked away, turning her back to the man.

Sara stopped pulling weeds, noticing Fay's actions and looking towards the man. She rolled her eyes, sighing as she continued again with her work. "Hello Gabe." She called carelessly.

"Hello Sara. Nice to see you. Eh, having a good morning?" the smooth, confident voice of Gabe came into Fay's ears. She pursed her lips, trying her best to act oblivious to him being there, in the chance he would not say anything to her.

"And hello, Faylene."

Of course. What had she expected? She bit her lip, before sharply looking over her shoulder at him. "You know it's Fay." She shot meanly at him. "No one calls me Faylene."

"Well I did." Gabe replied simply, crossing his arms and looking down at her. When she said nothing in response he let out a moan. "C'mon Fay, I'm sorry. Okay? I said I'm sorry. And I don't even know what I did." He grinned, "and I bet you don't remember, either."

Fay had to turn around, because he could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. He did that to easily. Even when she was looking straight at him, his eyes made her feel uncomfortable. She did not know why, there were a lot of people in the ton with eyes like his. Blue, but not bright blue. Sort of a dark blue, with a navy blue rim around the iris. But she guessed he was just good at glaring.

She folded her arms like him, sitting in front of him with her rocks in her lap. "Yes….I do…." She replied, but her uncertainty was clear in her voice. True, she did not remember, but she knew she was mad. …Did it have something to do with fish…? She got fights with him often. But that's what friends did, they had their disagreements.

And some were much more stubborn then others. Gabe watched in amusement at Fay's expression as she struggled to remember what it had been. She looked him in the eyes with a defiant glare, and unfolded her arms. "Fine! I don't remember….but I'm still mad."

Gabe lifted his eyebrows. "Talk about persistent. I'll give you a deal- If you forgive me for whatever it was I did, I'll buy you something in town." He sighed, rubbing his forhead.

"Deal." Fay agreed immediately, moving the rocks from her lap and standing up. "Lorie, watch my rocks, okay?" she asked her little sister, who nodded vigorously. Fay would not be surprised if half of her rocks were gone by the time she got back.


	3. Jewels

**Jewels**

Fay could not help but smile with joy as she walked down the road with Gabe, though her arms had once again crossed themselves over her chest. Her anger was slowly dieing away, and being replaced with excited thoughts of shopping. She loved it when the merchants came, with their horses and stands in the streets, selling such interesting items from skins to wooden carvings. She looked at each stand, her hazel eyes glowing with interest. She brushed a piece of dark brown hair that had fallen from her bun out of her face, and noticed Gabe watching her.

"So. See anything you would like yet? Let me tell you I'm not going to buy you anything that's too expencive." He said to her, with a frown at all of the crazy looking men smiling as if they were possessed at him. Obviously craving whatever money he had.

Fay shook her head, sighing. "No, not yet. But how about I look alone? So you don't have to suffer me going from place to place while I decide." She suggested brightly, liking the idea of being able to shop without his constant complaints or nagging.

Gabe thought for a moment as the continued to walk, thinking it over in his head. "Fine." He replied finaly, "Find me once you're done. I'm going to be getting a drink or something, okay?"

"Okay."

"See you then."

He walked away, his expression unreadable as he was long from Fay's sight withing the throng of walking people. She smiled, looking again at the carts as she walked by them, loving the feel of the gentle breeze that blew past his skirts and made them brush lightly against her legs. Finally something caught her eye.

Something shiny.

She lifted her eyebrow, ambleing toward the man who's cart held the shining pieces of glass, brilliantly sculpted into glittering animals of all kinds, including dragons. Her interest was immidiately aroused. She gingerly picked up one of the miniature dragons, feeling it's delicate glass wings with her finger. It was so smooth and cool against her hand, and she had to hold it for a few more second before placing it back down on the cart.

She always loved learning about dragons, ever since her mother had told her the story about Eragon. It was so amazing, and after hearing the tale she instaintly decided Eragon was her role model. But how he died...those fifty years ago. And how she lived in the town where he first grew up. This town, was the very town where he lived. It amazed her. She had even went to the place his farm had once been before it was burned down, and was shocked by what had become of it. It was a graveyard, with crooked tombstones and dieing grass. He had done so many things, and he former home was turned into a graveyard.

She placed the small dragon down with a small sigh, and realized the man was watching her with a strange expression, his eyes glowing and mouth spead into a wide grin, showing almost every single one of those yellowing teeth. She took a small step backward, feeling uncomfortable, borderline scared.

"You liked that?" The man asked her quickly, trusting a finger out toward the glass dragon she had been holding, and still grinning crazily at her.

"Well...I guess..." she said warily, glancing at the small dragon sitting on the cart.

"I gots something better for you," The man said, now pointing at her and winking. He kneeled down, reaching deep into the contents of his cart, and feeling around for a few moments before pulling out what he had been looking for. He did not even bother to set it on the table, he dropped it right into her arms, and she was surprised at how heavy it felt.

A rock? What could she want with a rock? She looked down at the thing in her arms, frowning. She lifted it up into one hand, and noticed how the dim sunlight caught on it, and the orange-gold color shimmered beautifully. At this her hazel eyes glowed with interest, but she could not help but feel the thing would be expensive. Besides, she'd have nothing to do with it.

She set it back on the man's cart, glad to have it out of her hands, because it was so heavy and she was afraid she might drop it. "Well it's beautiful, but it's nothing that I need," she said to the man, "Thank you, though."

The man tilted his head in confusion at her, and his eyes grew with bewilderment. "Of course you need it! You don't want it?!" He grabbed the rock from the counter, thrusting it back into her arms. "It's free of charge miss, I only hope you like it."

Fay stumbled back a step in surprise. If the man had wanted to give her the rock free of charge before, she would have gladly taken it. But by the way he was acting, it just scared her. She put the rock angrily back down on the cart a bit too hard, and a faint hollow noise sounded within it. "Please, sit, I dont. want. it."

with that she turned around quickly, just trying to get away from the cart as fast as she could. But it was just a few moments afterward, that she felt something heavy drop into one of the pockets in her skirts. She stopped in confusion.

She looked around, but no one was there...no one that looked like they would want to be dropping something in her pocket. Closing her eyes, she dared to reach in, and felt the cold of the orange rock against her fingers. She was both shocked and afraid as she gingerly pulled the thing out, her hands shaking.

She moaned slightly, not knowing what to do. She guessed she should just...keep it. It was just some useless rock, right? Besides, a lot of people from this town were crazy. That man could have just been one of the few who surpassed being at all sane. She slowly slipped the thing back into her pocket, rolling her eyes.

A few minutes later, she heard Gabe calling for her from somewhere behind her she turned around with a smile, and laughed as Gabe had to struggle to push through the people moving through the street.

"So," he panted, once he had managed to get to her, "Find what you want?"

Fay shook her head, "Nah. Nothing. But you know what? I forgive you anyways. You don't need to buy me something."

Gabe laughed in relief, starting to walk with her. After a while, he suddently seemed to remember something. "Oh! Fay, how could I have forgotten to tell you?!" He said brightly, his eyes lighting up and grin spreading across his face, "Some one get the last egg away from Galbatorix!"


End file.
